Squad

by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, Lisa Sterle (Illustrator)

Pretty Little Liars meets Teen Wolf in this fast-paced, sharply funny, and patriarchy-smashing graphic novel from author Maggie Tokuda-Hall and artist Lisa Sterle. When the new girl is invited to join her high school’s most popular clique, she can’t believe her luck—and she can’t believe their secret, either: they’re werewolves. Fans of Mariko Tamaki and Elana K. Arnold will devour the snappy dialogue, vivid artwork, and timely social commentary.

When Becca transfers to a high school in an elite San Francisco suburb, she’s worried she’s not going to fit in. To her surprise, she’s immediately adopted by the most popular girls in school. At first glance, Marley, Arianna, and Mandy are perfect. But at a party under a full moon, Becca learns that they also have a big secret.

Becca’s new friends are werewolves. Their prey? Slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls. Eager to be accepted, Becca allows her friends to turn her into a werewolf, and finally, for the first time in her life, she feels like she truly belongs.

But things get complicated when Arianna’s predatory boyfriend is killed, and the cops begin searching for a serial killer. As their pack begins to buckle under the pressure—and their moral high ground gets muddier and muddier—Becca realizes that she might have feelings for one of her new best friends.

Lisa Sterle’s stylish illustrations paired with Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s sharp writing make Squad a fun, haunting, and fast-paced thriller that will resonate with fans of Riverdale, and with readers of This Savage Song, Lumberjanes, and Paper Girls.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Fantasy, Horror, LGBT, Comics, Queer

213 pages, Hardcover

First published October 5, 2021

About the author

Maggie Tokuda-Hall (1984 -) is the author of Also an Octopus, The Mermaid the Witch and the Sea, its sequel The Siren, The Spy and The Song, Squad, and Love in the Library.

She lives in Oakland, California with her husband, children, and objectively perfect dog.

Reviews

[Chloe Gong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fast-paced and deeply satisfying read. Squad is a story fitted with the sharpest teeth that chomps down on the patriarchy, and I adored it with my entire vicious heart.

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

To cut right to the heart of things, Squad is like if Mean Girls was a sapphic werewolf story about group dynamics and quite literally devouring toxic men. And it’s marvelous. Written by Maggie Tokuda-Hall and wonderfully illustrated by Lisa Sterle, this is a chilling and thrilling graphic novel that attacks sexually aggressive masculine culture and shows there is power in friendships that serve as support groups. The book reads like a late 80s/early 90s after-school Halloween special, emphasized by the Archie Comics-like artwork crossed with 80s horror aesthetics, and is such a fun ride. Flowing beneath the high-stakes werewolf feasting plotline are some really great themes about friendship groups, rape culture and mother-daughter relationships in this tense graphic novel that is sure to shock and awe.

The nostalgia elements of Squad were a real winner with me. Everything from the art direction to the popular-girl clique cliches of this book brought me right back to childhood watching horror films aimed just above my age group that we’d conspiratorially watch at sleepovers after the parents went to bed. Yet the target age group for this book (high school aged) won’t feel lacking without the nostalgia boost (it’ll likely have a ‘vintage’ appeal though) as this is just a solidly written horror spectacular. It surrounds a female empowerment theme, yet takes a dark edge as these girls accept supernatural powers for the price of having to feast on human flesh every full moon. The wolf pack, with its whole set of lore and passing of the alpha torch once one graduates and moves on to start a new pack in college, has a strict set of rules and only hunts the ‘worst’ of their peers to eat. This tends to be abusive popular boys who rape drunk girls at parties.

The story takes a sharp turn when the Squad's rules get broken and disappearances start to form a pattern investigators are looking into, but the whole revenge plot leading up to this is just really fun and strikes a blow straight into toxic masculinity. Famous people are parodied as their meals, such as the reference to a devoured Bart O’Kavanaugh to mimic the false name given to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in one of his friend’s memoirs about sexual escapades and likely assaults, as well as a nod to a character named Weinstein. The book uses abusive men as their monthly feasts as a fun and damning commentary to deal out consequences on abusive behavior, but this is mostly just plot fuel for an examination of clique dynamics and the feeling of getting in over your head.

Also, did I mention this is a sapphic story? There is a very adorable love plot that brews within this book complete with a tear-jerking coming out scene. The book also plays with the mother-daughter relationship in an interesting way, having fun with the narration aspects of the book with scenes that narrate the coded meaning behind conversations between the two. It also places the story in the aftermath of a divorce, furthering the theme about the destructive nature of toxic relationships.

This is such a fun graphic novel with plenty of thrills that is perfect for spooky season but is just as entertaining any other time of the year. The art is fun and equally as engaging as the creepy storyline. This is fast paced, packed with plenty of depth and nuance and just well orchestrated in nostalgia-inducing glory. Just an all around good time.

4.5/5

[Katie Colson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had never heard of this graphic novel before but one of my lovely Patrons sent it to me and wowowowowow do they know me better than myself.

I didn't read the summary, just dove right in and I'm so glad I did. The summary spoils too much and I was genuinely surprised by so much of what the summary gives away.

A rich clique of girls that resemble Bunnies or Heathers? Okay, cool, whatever. But they turn out to be werewolves that kill insidious frat boys??? SIGN ME THE FUCK UP! I'm already head over heels. But then you add to that sapphic elements? I'm signed, sealed, delivered.

This had me smiling, gasping, laughing, and clapping.

I adored it and I can't believe it's a standalone. I need MORE!

[Adiba Jaigirdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had so much fun reading this! If you want a graphic novel that's like Teen Wolf but sapphic and with more morally grey characters, pick this one up!

[Heather ~*dread mushrooms*~ · Rating 1 out of 5]

I ended up really disliking this! And I hate that, partly because this is one of the few graphic novels where the art isn't distracting me with all its extra-ness and the colors don't make me hate my eyes. But I feel like the "patriarchy-smashing" message got extremely lost along the way. The girls kill predatory boys... until they don't. And we as the reader just *have* to know that the lead character is a small size 4. Yet the main character's mom is vilified for how toxic diet culture rules her life. Also, as other reviewers have mentioned, there were various microaggressions toward the characters of color. The one in particular that sticks out in my mind is when the MC is told she looks like a mermaid, but Asian.

I know feminism can be done well in entertainment because I feel it was in Sabrina. This book was on the right track but some things were mentioned and then left unaddressed, which came off as tone-deaf. Since I expected a super-feminist work, it just didn't work for me.

[Rachel L · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fast paced, sapphic, graphic novel about the new girl in town who is accepted by the popular girls. Only it doesn't take long until they reveal themselves to be werewolves and invite Becca to be part of their pack.

I thought this was a fun, quick read. A bit more violent than I usually enjoy, but the artwork was great and the story easy to follow along.

[CW ✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came for the vibes - dark YA graphic novel, queer girls, werewolves, and preying on horrible boys! - and honestly? Squad delivered.

Beautifully and vividly illustrated, Squad is about new girl Becca who is adopted by the popular girls in her new school - except the popular girls are actually werewolves who prey on gross boys who take advantage of girls. Ultimately, a compelling graphic novel about friendship, peer pressure, group dynamics, power, and how hunger and powerlessness can tear people apart.

Squad won't offer compelling or cutting discourse on sexism and subverting the patriarchy, but that's okay. Rather, I thought Squad felt like a wish fulfillment fantasy that explores: what if we were more powerful and we didn't have to be afraid? What if you were a werewolf, an apex predator, and nothing could touch you or hurt you? Squad has fun with these questions, and I found it vicious and satisfying.

[Scottsdale Public Library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Think Jennifer’s Body and Mean Girls.

The story follows three juniors in high school; Marley, Arianna (RiRi), and Mandy, when they meet the new girl (Becca) they allow her into their Squad, but little does Becca know, these three are werewolves. The pack does have some rules they follow, like only killing boys (that take advantage of girls under the influence), and some rules they break (particularly the no-boyfriend rule).

When Becca accidentally kills RiRi's boyfriend, they have to struggle to stay unnoticed and feed somewhere and on someone else.

The art style reminds me of the Archie Comics and some other strips that are found in newspapers. I would definitely recommend this graphic novel to those who are stepping into the genre for the first time and for an audience that likes a fresher take on the old Hollywood monster. -Sarah H.

[Carmen · Rating 4 out of 5]

"You know, you gotta be careful around bitches." pg. 63

I have conflicting feelings about this book. There were things I liked about it, and things I didn't enjoy. This is VERY close to five stars for me. Just on the cusp of tipping over into five stars.



BASIC PREMISE:
Becca starts going to a new high school and gets taken in by the most popular group of girls, much to her surprise. One night they reveal to her that they are werewolves, and she can either join them as a werewolf or she will be killed and eaten by them. She happily joins. What happens next is not so happy.


FEMINISM
OKAY. I love feminism and I am a strong feminist. I love feminist works and seeing feminism interpreted and reinterpreted, especially in the horror genre. I think it's fascinating. What Tokuda-Hall is touching upon here is very powerful. Teenage girls taking matters into their own hands by murdering and consuming rapists. I don't have a problem with this concept, it's quite interesting, especially Tokuda's realistic setting, realistic teen characters and realistic dialogue and interactions between the girls.



However, the book isn't long enough or meaty enough to do this topic justice. We have a lot of untapped potential, basically Tokuda-Hall is just brushing the surface of this topic.

Perhaps it's the format. Graphic novels are nice, I don't have a problem with them, but they (if they are a single-volume deal) are not long enough to really get into the nitty-gritty the way a novel can with 300 or even 300+ pages of sheer text. Because of the graphic novel format, Tokuda-Hall is not able to truly dive in and examine the feminism (or lack thereof) of the girls, the rape culture and it's overarching effects on campus life, and the intricacies of female friendships.



Becca's mom is also interesting, someone who is a slave to diet culture and is a grasping, rather bitter divorcée whom Becca looks down on and despises. The interplay here is realistic and fascinating. Becca scorns her mother for being weak and pathetic, valuing thinness and money and trying to ingratiate herself with her daughter. It seemingly escapes her attention that Becca is similar, changing herself to fit in with the popular girls, who - surprise surprise - also value thinness and exhibit shallow behaviors. Becca is just as fake as the mom she sneers at. Becca is just as grasping, insecure and shallow as her mom is. But of course she thinks she is better than her mom and her mom just 'doesn't understand her. God!' type of deal.


WEREWOLF and FEMINIST THEORY:
The lycanthropy is also not explored well. We are not really given much explanation on werewolves, what the 'rules' are surrounding werewolves, how they can be made and unmade, what requirements they are for turning, how packs function, how packs interact with other packs.



Tokuda-Hall only brought up details suddenly, when they were necessary for the plot. World-building-wise, this is a fail. Something like L.J. Smith's Circle novels does this better.

Suddenly, being unmade is brought up. You know it's going to be a key feature in the plot, but it's been months. Why has no one mentioned this earlier? Suddenly, the old alpha shows up. Suddenly, you realize the (strange and unaddressed) reality that there isn't a single male werewolf in this book. Or, actually, any positive male characters at all. There are NO positive male characters in this book. Actually, there are really no males in this book at all except snippets of rapists and sometimes innocent high school boys whom the girls slaughter.

The book is, in my opinion, sloppy and could have been constructed in a better way. Perhaps this is not possible with the graphic-novel format, however. It's self-contained, so there isn't any other materials to glean information from. We need a manga series, basically, to cover all that Tokuda-Hall should be covering in here. Or, you know, a novel.



Is Arianna really a bad alpha? Or was Allyson killing her for some other reason? Was this just an excuse for Becca to eat Arianna's heart and become human again? Personally, I think so. I think this whole set up was just a ploy of the author's to get Becca to be human again.


SLOPPY REALISM:
In a way, Tokuda-Hall's sloppiness is a boon. Things are not neat and tidy for the girls - neither are they in the real world. Becca and her friends and her mom are not perfect people, or even necessarily good ones - that's realistic. Murdering people over and over again is a messy business, and eventually the consequences will catch up with you - messy and realistic.

The way Tokuda's sloppiness doesn't serve her is when it's obvious she's glancing over some important points and information. Or when she skips huge time periods to fast forward to the good stuff - perhaps necessary for this platform but not good for plot.



LACK OF MALE CHARACTERS and LGBTQIA+

Becca is a lesbian. I exhibit no surprise, probably 90% of the graphic novels I read have LGBTQIA+ main characters. It's a huge trend right now. If you are paying attention, you will notice how much Becca blushes around Marley right from the beginning of the book. So the idea they end up together is not off the radar.

An interviewer for the SF Chronicle brought up lesbianism as a refuge when he was interviewing Tokuda-Hall. I find this kind of idea repugnant, I was brought up by my schooling to believe lesbians are lesbians and 'becoming a lesbian to escape men and escape the (oftentimes completely horrifying) reality of dating males is a retro idea and a damaging, hurtful one to lesbians who want to fuck and love other women because they are attracted to other women sexually and romantically.' I was taught that this is a damaging and incorrect way to view lesbian women, akin to Ian Fleming writing Pussy Galore (a lesbian) having sex with James Bond and being 'cured' by having sex with 'the right man,' she was only a lesbian because she had been mistreated by men. A good dicking will fuck that right out of her. I still believe this is a damaging myth around lesbian love.

However, I CANNOT blame Brandon Yu for bringing up this topic. I can't blame him. The book features NO men except for a spate of rapists and a few occasional 'innocent high school boys' who are on-page for a split second. Dating other women seems like an obvious solution to escaping this complete cesspool of male disgustingness. I'm sure that's not WHY Tokuda-Hall made Becca a lesbian, but she should have put some fucking men in this book. I understand what she's trying to do. I understand her message. I even understand why she did it, but the way it's set up is not doing her any favors. By presenting men as some kind of evil, rapist, predatory, immoral group of people it's no wonder the idea of homosexuality as a refuge is brought up by an interviewer after reading this book. You wouldn't want to date a man in this world Tokuda-Hall has created. To be fair, it's very much based in reality and in Tokuda-Hall's own high school experiences and her viewpoint as a sexual-assault survivor. But throwing a good (or at least decent) man or two in here would have made it a better book on a lot of levels, IMO. Make Becca a lesbian! Sure. Fine. But perhaps have at least one side character (he doesn't even have to be a main character) that shows men are people, too.

I understand that othering men serves her purpose, maybe her purpose has been served just to her liking, who knows. Maybe she wants the reader to see men as a completely alien 'species,' unrelated to humans who are all females. Maybe that is her intent, to say that men are so separated from decency that they don't even enter the equation anymore. It's not my way of looking at things, it's not my personal interpretation of feminism, but perhaps it ties in more with her message in this book.

"I'm not taking relationship advice from someone who's never even touched a dick." pg. 97

THE RACISM
The racism is actually spot-on. Very subtle, very realistic and very on-point. I was extremely impressed. This is how to do it.

I also LOVE how Becca ends up having sex and being in a romantic relationship with a girl who is casually racist. Or mildly racist? Or doesn't realize she is racist. I have no idea how to describe the intricacies of racism, and believe me, it is very intricate. Not simple. This is never addressed, and that in itself is a GLORIOUS decision on Tokuda-Hall's part. Not only is her DEPICTION of racism and casual racist comments COMPLETELY ON POINT, but how other people choose to deal with racism, or, more glaringly, NOT deal with it and just completely avoid the subject is VERY ACCURATE. I can't heap enough praise on how racism was dealt with (or not dealt with, as it goes) in this book. So true to life, very good job on Tokuda-Hall's part.



TL;DR Absolutely a fascinating premise that I would love to delve deeper into. Unfortunately, the format Tokuda-Hall has chosen doesn't lend itself to deep structural analysis. I would have preferred a traditional-format novel for this topic. Not because I despise graphic novels, but because I feel it would have done the concept more justice. I struggled with this one. Although I admire Tokuda-Hall's ideas and creativity here, I did not find it deep enough or nuanced enough to really satisfy me. I didn't like the ending, which felt too neat. A too-neat ending for a surprisingly realistically sloppy book. Definitely read it - I would recommend this one. But with caveats. It's not perfect. It's not deeply soul-satisfying in the way it could be. At least, not in my opinion.

RELATED MATERIALS:
Blood Moon https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265752/
Ginger Snaps https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0210070/...
American Werewolf in Paris. "She's stolen my heart." https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0118604/...
Mean Girls https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0377092/...
The Secret Circle books by L.J. Smith
Jennifer's Body https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131734/...
I guess Buffy on some level, but that's a stretch.
Bring It On https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204946/...

Link to the SF Chronicle interview:
https://datebook.sfchronicle.com/book...

NAMES IN THIS BOOK

Thatcher m
Becca f
Marley f
Heidi f
Arianna (RiRi) f
Amanda f
Chad m
Bo m
Mackenzie f
Franklin m
Ro f
Bart m
Amber f
Chastity f
Allyson f
Jack m
Lisa f
Jessica f
Sherry f
Edna f
Alan m
Jerry m
Karen f
Tim m

[Bookishrealm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I'm not really sure how to talk about this one. Squad is a Sapphic werewolf horror graphic novel that focuses on a group of teenage girls who plot the revenge of young men who attempt to take advantage of young women. The premise of the story is interesting, but the characters are a little more difficult to assess. They are supposed to be a tight knit group of friends; however, the microaggressive behavior that occurred between the characters was a hard pill to swallow. I'm not sure if they were supposed to be reminiscent of the characters from Mean Girls but it took me slightly out of the story. Nevertheless, it is fast-paced and easy to make it through and I also enjoyed the artwork.

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This YA graphic novel was a bit darker than I was expecting, but not in a bad way. Becca is the new girl at a posh school and is surprised when the popular clique recruits her--literally, they're a werewolf pack who need a fourth member.

They prey on the predators, satisfying their monthly hunger by eating shitty guys they pick up at parties. Things get a lot more morally grey when one of their boyfriends is accidentally killed and they're forced to look for food outside of their usual places.

Great vintage horror vibes in both the art and storytelling; the drawings are kind of Archie comic style but polished.
There's also a cute coming out, sapphic romance, and an intriguingly complex portrayal of a mother-daughter relationship where they never say what they mean.

I appreciated how all the women characters aren't crafted with likeability or niceness in mind. They felt very authentic!

This book gave me strong Buffy vibes, capturing my imagination in the way it gave teen girls the physical power to fight the patriarchy as embodied in entitled rapey teen boys. It felt cathartic and empowering to read like Buffy has often made me feel. There are also shades of The Craft in the girls' relationship and power dynamics with one girl being the leader.

[Rayna · Rating 1 out of 5]

This just didn't work... "Patriarchy-smashing" and "feminist horror story" are not the right descriptions for this graphic novel. You can't promote a book as patriarchy-smashing & say it's about a group of werewolf ladies preying on "slimy boys who take advantage of unsuspecting girls", and then fill it with teen girls MCs who make shitty decisions about their werewolf rules/ideals and also constantly spew girl-on-girl hate. The concept could have been pulled off so well to have "timely social commentary" but unfortunately it got too muddied and messy, with no actual lessons learned or morals to be found. The synopsis is very misleading and I really didn't appreciate the overall vibe this group of girls sent out. *sigh*

[Emma Griffioen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the perfect fall Saturday night read. 🤍🍁🍷 Full review to come!

[Eva B. · Rating 1 out of 5]

First off, this art was AMAZING. Quite possibly my favorite out of all of the graphic novels I've read this year.
Second, I....did not love this. I liked the plot, but I thought it would be a bit more focused on hunting down date-rapey bros and less focused on the fallout of one specific killing. I also didn't like the romance. I had assumed that the romance would either be with Becca and Heidi or Becca and Amanda, and so I was super disappointed when it ended up being with Marley. Given that Marley was either closeted or struggling with her sexuality, I can excuse her prying about Becca's sexuality, but I can't overlook how she consistently talked over Amanda and ignored her requests not to be called "Mandy" and the weird comments she made towards Becca about Becca looking like "a mermaid, but Asian!", wanting to set her up with the "hottest Asian guy in school", and was never really challenged on any of that. It just left me with a weird taste in my mouth. Also, Heidi or Amanda would've been much better.

[Cassidy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This graphic novel is The Craft meets Mean Girls meets Werewolves... plus it’s gay. In short, it’s awesome.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclosure: I won this Advance Reader's Edition in a Goodreads Giveaway.

Heathers with fur. Teenage werewolf vigilantes get a twofer as they strike out against toxic masculinity and sate the hunger that drives their hunt. I wanted to cheer them on, but the story is awkwardly told (in script and art) and has characters crossing lines that take redemption out of reach.

[laurel [the suspected bibliophile] · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. So what if Mean Girls was making out with Pretty Little Liars and then Teen Wolf came along and bit the living shit out of them and then it was the full moon and now they all have to eat human flesh once a month?

Then you'd get Squad.

This was fantastic. I loved the artwork. I loved the characters. I loved the bloody amoral juiciness of the squad and the girls and Becca going along with it because she wanted to belong so badly. And I love that in the middle of all the gory flesheating and hunting was a delightful coming-out story.

Full RTC.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review

[Sophie_The_Jedi_Knight · Rating 1 out of 5]

This left such a bad taste in my mouth.

I was totally on board with this premise - werewolves, feminism, girl groups, and gay crushes sounded like an incredible combo. But this was just... bad.

The artwork was stunning, first off. It had this comic book-esque feel that I quite liked, and the colors were great. But that's really all I can say.

There were just too many things I disliked in this book for me to give it a higher rating than this. I thought this would be about a tight-knit friend group of werewolves, but instead the characters are just so awful that I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And, as many other reviews have mentioned, there are microaggressions towards the black and Asian characters that go entirely unremarked upon - the MC's love interest literally tells her she looks like a "mermaid but Asian." What the heck? Oh, also, there are some fatphobic comments too that are never commented upon.

The whole plot is all over the place and never focuses on any of its moving parts long enough to say anything. It's just a waste of time.

Amanda was the only character I really thought was cool, but I don't think I was even supposed to like her that much. I want her story instead.

1/5 stars. At least the art was good.

[M · Rating 2 out of 5]

I read The Mermaid, The Witch, And The Sea by: Maggie Tokuda Hall and really loved it I was so excited for Squad to come out, I preordered it and everything. The storyline was pretty basic (which was fine) it had a Mean Girls/early 2000’s teen movie vibe to it. The problem with the story, for me, is with how the only main Black character, Amanda, was treated. It felt to me like Amanda was unfairly targeted, and whose treatment felt like micro aggressions. I didn’t particularly like the ending either (no spoilers) it really didn’t make sense to me with the characters. With a few small things this went from a great, cute sapphic graphic novel about a group of were-girls taking their power back, to a meh read.

[Nore · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't get the hype. Weak story with a cop-out ending, which is furthered hampered by amateur page layouts with weird skips and omissions (Becca, you're totally bleeding from a wound that nobody can see because it isn't drawn!) (Becca, you look TOTALLY hot in this dress that you are suddenly not wearing at the party you were going to wear it to, no we will not explain).

Art-wise... It's fine. I've seen worse, I've seen better. The girls are obviously supposed to look different, but they really don't - the artist only paid attention to the details in close-ups, so outside of those, they all look the same. Perfect cupids bows, pert noses, pointy chins, the exact same almond-shaped black eyes. If their color palettes were more similar, I would have gotten them mixed up. (I certainly couldn't tell their wolf forms apart.)

To top it all off, the romance - which is billed as one the reasons to read this book! uwu soft lesbian werewolves or whatever! - is rushed and flimsy, and so left me cold. And it's not just the romance that's thin: All of the interpersonal relationships in this book fall flat, because all of the characters are flat.

Even Becca is a cardboard cutout of a character. She's "not normal," but we see zero evidence of this. Okay, let's say she's a weird girl after all. Why? What's so weird about her? What makes her so boring and strange? She doesn't seem to have any problems making friends. She doesn't seem to have any unusual hobbies or interests (or any hobbies or interests, really). I couldn't buy into the drama surrounding her because I couldn't buy into her.

Call it 1.5 stars, rounded down because I'm leaning towards "didn't like it."

[Taylor (Taylor Talks Tales) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating 2.5/5 stars, rounded up because I liked the artwork a ton

Squad was a well designed and interesting graphic novel about werewolves that I liked enough but certainly didn’t love. Though the artwork, design style, and color scheme intrigued me, something about this book’s plot was just too surface level and borderline cliche, especially if you’ve seen Heathers, Jennifer’s Body, and Ginger Snaps. I love all three of those movies, and I feel like this book was just a mashup of those films with a heavy dose of Mean Girls. The sapphic relationship also felt like it came out of nowhere and lacked a heartfelt development and the story was just too short. In all honesty I feel like most of this book’s issues could have been fixed by making it longer.

Plus the plot was just way too predictable, and I also found the characters ultimately committed irredeemable acts. Sure I was onboard with them killing and eating rapists, but at a certain point they moved into just killing any boy/man they could, and that was where I found my support for them to disappear. It went from feminist justice to full on murder, which the two main heroines find wrong but then they never address it again.

Perhaps teen me would have loved Squad, but adult me didn’t feel like it had enough substance for this to be a memorable story or one I would want to reread. It was good for a one time read.

[Mallory · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting graphic novel. I really liked the illustrations,, they were well done and not over the top. I loved the concept of an all female wolf pack. I liked the Mean Girls undertones and the catty girl behavior that came with that was ok, if a little out of place for a group of girls who target the worst of boys. It was the best of feminism at times and the absolute worst twisting of it, but crazy contradictions and irrational behavior fits for a group of high school girls. It was an interesting take on the werewolf myth. I thought the ending was a little bit odd, but overall it was a story I enjoyed and I’d read future graphic novels by this author.

[♥Milica♥ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember wanting to read this one so bad years ago, I was even going to preorder, not sure why I didn't. Anyway, it was basically Mean Girls, but with werewolves which is right up my alley.

The depth of the story surprised me, it was well-developed, and by the end I was craving more. The art style is gorgeous, I'd buy a physical copy for that alone. The characters weren't all likable, but I was so invested in their lives. Becca was probably my favourite, though Amanda was great too.

Now, can anyone tell me if the TV show adaptation is still in the works? It's been years without any news, so sadly I don't think it's happening anymore. But I am absolutely seated in case it does, and for Squad 2.

4.5

[aarya · Rating 2 out of 5]

I feel like SQUAD has the problems of PROMISING YOUNG WOMEN plus other issues that I don’t want to rant about (it’s… a lot). I’m so disappointed because I love sapphic werewolves. You might have a more positive reaction, so give SQUAD a shot if the premise intrigues you. The artwork is gorgeous.

Disclaimer: I received a free e-ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Gabs · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so tired of people painting women as catty bitches and I'm so over other people painting black characters as calous. I dnfed this and I won't be returning. I'm over it.

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

so so good!! i think the title and cover had me expecting a straightforward teen monster girl romp, but i was really impressed with the story's depth and nuance.

on the surface, it is, in fact, a fun romp. badass werewolf girls who hunt predatory men?? FUCK YES! the requirements for their pack are that each girl has to be smart, and pretty, and hungry.

but unexpected complexity comes with the fact that once they transform, the girls are trapped in this so-called sisterhood. they must kill every full moon, and nothing but human flesh can satisfy their hunger. the only possible escape is to kill their alpha, the leader of the pack. and while at first it sounds liberatory to take down sexual predators, does every one of them deserve to die? what will happen when the pack is forced to feed on someone who is innocent? i love the heavy questions of power and morality here.

my only issue with the book is that it contains as many racist and homophobic microaggressions as you'd expect from a story about a high school clique, and i was expecting them to eventually be addressed. the book doesn't shy away from complexity regarding all the killing, so why does the bigotry go ignored?

perhaps an unpopular opinion, but my favorite character is amanda, the one whose valid criticisms typically go ignored by the rest of the pack. she's salty and traitorous, but she makes big moves and she's the most interesting girl in the group.

i love the humor and meta touches, such as the multiple mean girls references. i also adore the stunning and expressive art. the characters' impeccable outfits and pretty hairstyles are a great foil to all the gore and horror imagery!

i also wasn't expecting this book to be so GAY and it made me so happy when it turned into a bit of a love story. sapphic softness as respite from viscera and brutality. i can't think of a happier ending than that.

[Althea · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ever since I first read the synopsis of this book I knew I had to pick it up, and when I heard it was being illustrated by the amazing Lisa Sterle (aka, the artist of my first ever tarot deck) I immediately went to preorder it. I finished this book in an evening and, although overall it was a lot of fun, I did have some issues.

First and foremost, Lisa Sterle did not disappoint with her stunning artwork - the colours and the style of this graphic novel are to die for! I really hope to see her collaborating with more authors in the future! This book has an amazing synopsis and, although the plot did turn out to be a bit predictable, I didn't mind at all, for two reasons - the fact that it sapphic, and it almost had a nostalgic feeling about it that reminded me of many 2000s movies!

However, some aspects did leave a bit of a bad taste in my mouth. First of all, one of the main characters uses the word "lesbo" at one of the other characters for supposedly looking at her while she gets changed. It is later revealed that the character who shouts it is a queer girl too, so this just felt really horrible to read. I know it could be deemed as an accurate depiction of your classic teen mean girl but it really did feel like a slap in the face. Another of the main characters displays some casual transphobia by saying that she isn't taking advice from someone who's never touched a dick to the main character who is a lesbian. Like, come on, it's 2021, I'm tired of this shit. Throwaway comments like this are not okay. There was also constant fatphobia throughout that I was just waiting to be properly challenged but that never comes about. Again, I'm tired of it.

Though this graphic novel did have its issues, I did enjoy it overall and I do hope that there's some sort of a sequel or companion to it as I'd love to explore some of the other characters that we meet throughout!

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[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finished this book and had to just... blink for a few minutes. This was so wild, and not in a good way. It took me a hot second to realize why I was so uneasy about this book, but now that it's clicked, I can't unsee it.

The whole concept of this graphic novel was that there's this group of popular girls, the "Squad," who have to feed on humans once a month, and they choose to do so on the "worst" boys: the ones who sexually assault and prey on teenage girls. But even putting aside the whole preemptive murdering aspect of this, the Squad provokes this behavior on purpose. And if that wasn't iffy enough, they also devolve into literally preying on boys who had rejected their advances and tried to get away, and on homeless people. I didn't think I needed to say this outright but... that's not feminism, babe. After talking with Meilin (@bibliophilelin), I realized that to a certain extent this book tried to do the whole Heathers and Mean Girls route of creating social commentary through irony, but it certainly did not hit the way these iconic pieces of media did.

And oh — the problems don't stop there! There were a lot of racist and homophobic microaggressions throughout, often by the love interest and at no point did anyone condemn or challenge them. There was also a lot of fatphobia that made me uncomfortable, both by the individual members of the Squad and the main character's mother. Plus, misogyny and victim blaming! Double whammy, we hate to see it!!

The thing is, I loved the art style of this graphic novel. I was also intrigued by this concept, which is why I picked it up! But the journey the author went through to get to their point erased any potential for "feminism" and "justice" out and replaced it with frankly disturbing and problematic messages.

[Kelly]

The art in this comic is fantastic. I love the vintage-Archie style and think it really worked with the story. Vivid colors with a little neon hue were eye-appealing.

That said, the story itself didn't quite gel for me. This is Mean Girls meets Heathers meets werewolves. When Becca moves to a new, small, posh town, she's immediately taken in by the popular crowd and ditches the lone fat girl at school who she had a quick connection with (that girl wasn't cool enough). Soon, Becca learns this elite girl gang has a secret: under the full moon, they transform into werewolves who set out to destroy boys who are too eager to take advantage of girls. All seems well at first, as they plan their attacks outside of Piedmont, but when Becca accidentally destroys the boyfriend of one of her fellow girl gang members, their days are numbered.

Everything up until this point was pretty great, but the falling action really fell apart. Becca and one of the other girls are having a sweet romance, but somewhere in there, the decision to break the group apart to save themselves doesn't quite connect with the larger premise. There's a lot of social commentary that flies under the radar -- body issues, racism, toxic relationships -- that could have been explored more fully, and it's unclear what happens once the girls decide to let go of their werewolf ways. Do boys get better? Do boys not matter? If they're protecting other girls, do they not do that anymore? It's unclear, as the ending is a happily ever after for Becca and her new girlfriend (which is welcome!) but we don't know what will happen now.

I wish this were an illustrated novel, as opposed to a graphic novel, in order to further develop the world and plot. The art is a high note, and weaving it into a more nuanced narrative would, I think, make this especially good.

That said, I think this would pair in a really fun way with Exquisite Corpse in the category of "books about girls getting revenge on slimy men."

[a foray in fantasy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I needed a quick graphic novel in between a bunch of longer fantasies, and this one hit the spot. The art was beautiful and, for being so short, I was surprisingly invested in the characters.

Of course, it’s also sapphic, so that’s another major plus.